Behrens helps Cal beat Eastern Washington

During Cal’s first workout with Cuonzo Martin this summer, the new head coach found one player lagged behind the rest. That player sparkled in Cal’s 78-67 win over Eastern Washington at Haas Pavilion on Friday night.

Forward Christian Behrens was a year and a half removed from his second torn ACL and entered the summer too out of shape to handle Martin’s difficult workout regimen.

“He couldn’t finish a 30-minute workout he was so exhausted,” Martin said. “What I did see from the first to the fourth or fifth day, he got better.”

And the 6-foot-8, 226-pound junior has continued that streak of improving into the season. Behrens scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting to help knock off the Eagles (8-4). He had averaged 7.1 points before Friday.

He’s the starting forward for a Cal team that, at 10-1, is off to the school’s best start since the 1959-60 season. The record surpassed Martin’s preseason expectations.

The win was a microcosm of Behrens’ time at Cal. He missed multiple passes that came his way in the first half and contributed to the seven turnovers Cal committed in the game’s first 12 minutes.

But in the second half, Behrens took off, scoring 14 points on a series of dunks and layups and taking advantage of an outsized Eastern Washington team. Tyrone Wallace led Cal with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Behrens struggled in the first half of his Cal career as well. He had his knee surgery in the winter of 2010 while he was a high school student in Maple Valley, Wash. After hardly playing his freshman year at Cal, he tore his ACL again in December of his sophomore season.

“You’ve got to go out there and practice like it’s a game, otherwise you’re not going to get the result,” Behrens said.

His playing time was limited last season as well, as he averaged just 6.8 minutes per game. But with the coaching change came a new opportunity for Behrens. Only it got off to a terrible start.

“He responds really well to criticism,” said Cal guard Sam Singer, who scored 12 points. “Coach Martin challenged him in the summer.”

Behrens adjusted to the added conditioning and played his way into the starting lineup. The results have come in waves. After scoring 10 points in Cal’s season opener, Behrens didn’t score in double digits for seven consecutive games.

He’s starting to get comfortable with the speed of the game now, he says. He scored a then career-high 12 points against Wyoming on Dec. 10 and matched it in Cal’s next game against Princeton.

His toughest test is up next, a Monday meeting with No. 5 Wisconsin.

“I think he’s a talented ballplayer,” Martin said. “Now he continues to work because he likes the progress.”